Page 17 of Caleb's Cause
“Michael lost it.” She turned to Duane. “Remember those dash cameras I asked Mom about? Well, I got them, and installed them. They not only showed what was in front of me, but also what was behind, I paid extra to have the inside filmed also.”
“Oh, shit, you got their fornication on tape?” Caleb asked in shock.
“Yes, and when he lost it on me. I didn’t know this, but Michael had some stuff of his in the back seat, from the last time he borrowed my car. I don’t remember what it was, but he picked it up, and mind you, he and Stephanie had just got done doing the deed, they didn’t have any clothes on, and no seatbelts. I was going roughly seventy miles-an-hour down the highway, which was the legally posted speed limit. I was actually doing sixty-eight, but whatever Michael had in the back, he picked it up, and slammed it into the back of my head. Three times. I lostcontrol of the vehicle, and I remember screaming and lifting my arm to prevent the trees coming at me.” She held up her left arm in front of her face and everyone saw the white gauze bandage on it. “I came to in the hospital three days later. Mom was there, as well as her boss, and my step-father. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why he was so pissed, and scared at the same time.”
“What’s his name?” Duane asked.
“Larry Mason.”
“Go on.”
“Anyway, within an hour of me waking up, the police were there, I didn’t understand until later why Mom and her boss told the officer to leave and requested that his supervisor was to interview me. They wouldn’t allow any police officers except the supervisor in to see me. Larry tried to fight Mom on it, but she pulled rank, saying she was my biological mother while he was only my step-father. He backed down then.”
“Was he dirty?” Clark asked.
“Yes, so were at least a dozen others. The supervisor came, told me that Stephanie had died, and Michael didn’t even have a scratch on him.”
“How did that happen?” Denver asked in confusion.
“According to the cameras, once he realized we were going to crash, he ducked down behind the front seats and braced himself. I had the steering wheel to break my crash, and Stephanie didn’t have anything. We later found out that the cop that was going to interview me was going to pin it all on me. The supervisor said I had no alcohol in my system, while both Michael and Stephanie had over twice the legal limit. That bad cop admitted in open court that he was going to switch the results of the blood tests with mine. But the nightmare didn’t end there.”
“Oh, god,” Erin said with a shake of her head. “This is like a train wreck or a horror movie.”
“I’d go with horror movie. Anyway, Michael’s father is known for getting his way. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I found out the DA is looking into him for being a mob boss. I’d have to look at a calendar for the exact date. It was the night before I left, and I can’t remember how long I’ve been traveling to get here. Anyway, Mom’s boss told me about legal wire taps, and legal surveillance cameras being installed in my mother’s house. Everything is on the up and up, but they don’t have enough to arrest and convict. At least not enough to make the charges stick.” She shook her head and finished the juice. “Anyway, after I was released from the hospital, a week later, I’m being sued for wrongful death by Stephanie’s family. I had my own apartment, but Mom insisted I go back home with her. My entire time there, Larry was a bigger bastard than normal. Mom finally told him to shut up or get out. That I was her child, and if he couldn’t be supportive, then he didn’t need to stick around.”
She shook her head and smirked. “There is no love lost between them, and at the time, weeks ago, that I found out that Michael’s father is either the mob, or has mob connections, I learned that Larry is in deep with George Babcock, Michael’s father.” She saw Duane write the name down, and continued, “At the trial, Michael got on the stand and testified how I was driving recklessly and that I was screaming at Stephanie to shut up because she was crying. All lies. My Mom’s boss, Lyle Anderson, the top criminal lawyer in Los Angeles county, took my case, pro bono. He let Michael dig his grave while he told lies and fabrications about me under oath, then when it was his turn to call witnesses, the first person he called to the stand was the boyfriend that broke up with Stephanie that night and stormed off. It came to light that he thought she was cheating on him, so he hired a private eye. He confronted her with the evidence he had, which he turned over to Lyle. Then he introduced my dash cameras into evidence. I didn’t know this, but there was proof,prior to that fateful night, that he was having an affair with Stephanie, in my car. Four times. With that, and the proof of them doing it while I was driving, then it clearly showing him trying to grab the wheel from me before he hit me, the jury gave the not guilty on all charges for me. Because of the severity of the camera footage, the DA took Michael to court.” Katherine paused to giggle, and with a shake of her head, she looked at them with mirth. “Michael had the audacity to try to hire Mom, that’s right, my mother, to represent them. Apparently Larry told George she would do it. As you can guess, Mom laughed in their faces and refused. After his trial, Michael was found guilty on the charges of attempted murder against me, and the murder of Stephanie. I don’t know if I told you this, but because she wasn’t belted in, when I lost control and went through the guardrail, she flew through the windshield and died on impact with the tree. Oh, and on those cameras, it showed Michael exiting the car and dressing completely before even calling for help. Little did he know that I had On-Star, and they contacted the authorities ten minutes before he did. He barely had his shoes tied when the first responders arrived. You could clearly hear how pissed off he was that he wasn’t able to contact his father before the police arrived. He tried to blame me, but I was unconscious behind the wheel, he was walking around, and Stephanie lay dead on the hood of the car, completely naked. Thankfully, those cops weren’t from LA county, and weren’t on the take. They documented everything with regular film and their work-issued body cameras. Let’s just say it didn’t paint Michael in a flattering light.”
“What happened to your arm?” The man with an eye patch asked quietly.
“When I lifted my arm to protect my face, glass from the windshield came in, and cut my arm. Bad. The cut was so deep it severed all the tendons in my arm, and actually scraped thebone. It took almost a month for the swelling to go down before they could operate, then an infection set in, and they had to do it all over again when I couldn’t bend my fingers more than this.” She demonstrated with her right hand, and shook her head sadly. “Because of where and the severity of the infection, I had to have skin grafts. The last one was a month ago, and I have to wear this for six weeks. I’ll have to find a doctor to check it out, but because of what happened two weeks ago, I don’t know if I should.”
“What happened,” Erin asked.
“I was exhausted, friends of both Stephanie and Michael knew where I lived, and they wouldn’t stop harassing me. I’d come home and find nasty notes, rotting garbage, and sometimes, dead flowers outside my apartment door. I went to Mom’s and after she fixed me my favorite meal, I climbed into my old bed and fell asleep. Larry wasn’t home then, he came home later. About an hour after he returned, George, Michael’s father, arrived with several police officers, the ones they knew were on the take. They didn’t have their uniforms on, just regular street clothes, but they were recognized as being members of the local police force. Mom overheard George tell Larry that if he wanted to continue with the organization, then he had to go with them to get me out of my apartment. He told Larry that I owed him for messing up Michael’s life. He stressed that whatever Michael endured was because of me. That it was my fault he would never marry the love of his life, because I killed her. Would never have children, and was locked behind bars for something he didn’t do. See, earlier that day, Michael was sentenced to life in prison. For both the attempted murder and actual murder, he received one life sentence. To say George was pissed was an understatement. Mom woke me after they left, before you ask, they didn’t see my car because I was parkedtwo streets over. Not to hide, just because that was the closest parking space I could find.”
“Mom and Lyle devised a plan before that night. All above board. The way Mom described it was that they were putting me into the Witness Protection Program without the government involvement. We went to a seedy motel where I booked a room for the rest of the night, but not before going to a branch of my bank on the other side of town to withdraw cash. I only brought my license with me.” She leaned forward and pulled it from her back pocket and handed it to Duane.
“The next morning I met with Lyle, he gave me a bag with cash, and clothes. He also said there was a cell phone, a burner phone, a charger, and information on my case. He told me that wherever I ended up and felt safe, to tell my story. He said the more people that knew, the less likely it would be that George would come after me.”
“He’s right,” Clark spoke. He shrugged. “If this was a military mission and I had one target, you, it would be an in and out, one shot, target eliminated. But now, now you have twelve targets to try to take out. What’s to say these new targets would all be together at the same time.”
“And,” Perry said. “I’m sure they could get one or two shots off, but after that, the rest of the targets would be on the shooters like white on rice. You just told a former FBI agent, a physical therapist, a vet, three rough and ready ranchers, and eight Navy SEALs. Do you think they know where you went?”
“No, because Mom, Ilsa Smith, told me she was Emily Riceman’s best friend until she moved away from Fool’s Gold when she was eleven. That was forty-five or more years ago. My biological father died while serving his country. Larry is a lazy piece of shit that says he can’t work because he has problems. Yeah, trying to come up with different ideas to get his hands on my inheritance from Dad, and Mom’s money. Mom did admitthat she’s only staying with him in the hopes of me leaving, he will invite George over when Mom’s at work, and they’ll talk.”
“Get the incriminating evidence the DA needs?” Duane nodded firmly.
“Correct, she also said that her divorce papers are already drawn up. Once she gets what she needs, she’s leaving for a few days to have him served, and evicted from her house.” Katherine shook her head sadly. “I know I shouldn’t worry, but the cash that Lyle gave me he said Mom had been putting away as her exit money. I was also told not to worry, that there was plenty more where what she gave me came from.” She shook her head again. “There is twenty thousand dollars in that bag.”
She listened to everyone whistle, and sighed heavily. “I hope she has enough to make it out.”
“Are you supposed to contact anyone?” Duane asked.
“Lyle told me there’s a number on the burner phone that I’m to call when I feel like I am safe. I just have to call it, and say that. Nothing else. If something happens, and I am in danger, I’m to call that same number, tell them my location, and that I’ve been compromised. Then I’m to lay low until help arrives. That’s all I know.”
Everyone turned to Erin, and she nodded once as she stood up. “Are you hungry?”
“Famished.”
